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I found a C4 that i'm interested in for a very low price, the seller says only the head gasket needs to be replaced to get it running- I'm pretty sure I could do the job but the engine he says has 250,000 miles on it. How many more miles does anyone think this thing will last before I have to get it swapped? I've never owned a corvette so I'm not too familiar with them
That’s at the upper limit IMO and being a non-runner who knows what else is bad (trans? suspension? electronics? Brakes? Tires?)
What is “very low price” and what are you looking to get out of it (weekend cruiser? Autox/racing?)?
There are lots of C4s around that can be had reasonably, if you factor in cost of engine and whatever else may be wrong...Likely to come out much much better in a running/driving car.
If you are going to be doing all of your own work and don’t mind the sweat equity might be a fun project or if you are looking to convert it to a track car could be fun too. If you hire out the work I would think cost prohibitive.
Thats kind of what I figured with that high of a number.
Owner said 1500 or best offer, I was hoping to pay 1000 max. I'd really only like to have it as a weekend cruiser, possibly as a track car.
I was planning on doing all of my own work on it to keep my costs down. I wanted to do a thorough inspection of the vehicle with a friend before the purchase but wouldn't mind burning the money if it turns out to be unfixable. Seems like a fun project to work on over the summer.
Gotcha. Just be willing to cut and run. With that many miles it might be more sorted in some ways than other lower mile cars (hard to believe much of the suspension etc... are orig). Just evaluate the condition of everything else as much as you can as it adds up in time and money quickly. Does the seller mention or have records of what has been replaced? How long has it been sitting (stored outdoors???)
I have a 93 manual, so hopefully others can chime in on what to look for in an 85 (a lot of differences between motor, electronics, trans etc...).
I paid $2500 for my 85 that had been sitting for 12 years in the Texas sun. Was told "ran fine" when parked, Well It did start up, drove it home, did some work on it first week to try and get running better.. 3 weeks later transmission went out. Week after that the engine threw a rod. This was on an 81K mile engine. I've also had to replace the Fuel tank (pin holes), all 6 U-joints, New Throttle body , new brakes and rotors. All in less then a year. Currently I just replaced the ECU with a EBL Flash-II unit and am tuning it now.. Do I regret buying it? Nope, but would be nice to not have to replace so much right off. It's pretty much a new car now.. Fun to drive.
250,000 ODO miles on a 36 year old car that is not running... in your situation I would simply assume it needs an engine, a transmission, and a lot of other stuff. How much are you willing to pay for it?
And in this condition, there is no way anyone can tell you how many more miles she will go. It would need to be in running condition so you could check oil pressure, compression/leakdown, many other tests.
Another concern to consider is critters, mainly rodents harboring in the chassis. They like to gnaw on wires and other stuff to keep their teeth down to size. If it’s been sitting outside in a rural area like that picture shows, I’d be amazed if there was not rodent damage to wiring.
For $1000 you can part the car out and get your money back if the driveline is too far gone to fix. That top alone is $500 and enough of the body panels are solid enough to easily get another $1k out of.
'85 C4 engine
